Bell KS I seriously cannot believe January 2022 is already over! I’m still coming to grips with the idea of 2022 and we’re already entering month 2. I’ve gotten in the habit of reflecting and setting goals a lot more frequently and think it would be great to do it at the end of every month. By the end of the year, I’m hoping to be able to reflect more realistically on how the whole year went rather than just the few moments that stuck in my mind. There are some common questions recommended for this and as it’s my first monthly reflection, I will use them as a guideline this time.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived
forwards.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
Let’s try and understand some of my January!
What went well? What am I celebrating?
I had to move again (within London) and the move went well. This was something that I was anxious about for a lot of the Christmas period so this was a major celebration point. It also meant I finally felt like I could get a new start for 2022.
What is one lesson I learnt?
You cannot let numbers dictate your life. I work in digital marketing, I am (or try to be) a “micro influencer” and I blog – all these things are often reduced to numbers such as reach, interactions and likes. I sometimes catch myself getting upset when the numbers aren’t as expected and have to remind myself that the Internet is not real life. It does not define me! This will be super important going forward so I am holding on to this lesson very carefully.
What didn't go well? How can I change this for next month?
I spent a lot of time procrastinating and overthinking in January. Working from home didn’t help that. I simply don’t have time to do that anymore if I don’t want to burn out so February needs to be more structured and I need to stick to my deadlines – whether external or set by myself! This will be crucial to look after my mental wellbeing as well as being able to do hobbies and see friends outside of work!
What area in my life did I grow the most in?
If you’ve ever done CBT, one of the exercises is to lay out all your values in life and rank them in order of importance to you personally. This could be work, family, hobbies, religion, sports etc. This question reminds me of that. I’d like to think I grew a lot in communication this month. Expressing my own opinion, knowing how to talk to strangers, not shying away from difficult topics.
What are my goals for the next month?
I’m adding this so next month I can reflect on how many goals I achieved. Setting goals is super important to me so I don’t get distracted or bored. For February, I want to plan out my time more carefully. I want to be consistent with my hobbies. I want to explore more of what London has to offer. I want to reach the next stage with my job (one day I’ll expand on what I mean by that). I want to spend less time aimlessly on my phone. I want to read more!
I’m going to leave it at that, short and sweet 🙂 I really recommend doing this, it actually felt really cathartic. I hope your January went well and you can smile looking back. Remember not every month will be your month and life is a rollercoaster – the next up is just around the corner. Wishing you an amazing start into February, let’s do this!
What are your goals for February?
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